Escape to the Chateau DIY (2018–2021): Season 6, Episode 2 - Episode #6.2 - full transcript
Chateau DIY Edward is re-building the pool house under strict supervision by Anna
[narrator] Across France,
there are thousands
of beautiful Chateau...
Many forgotten and abandoned .
Look at this!
[narrator] Now they’re being
brought back to life...
By adventurous Brits.
-Ooh!
-Wow!
[laugh]
[narrator] They’re taking on
the challenge...
I'm sure you both think
I'm bonkers for
making you do that.
[narrator]
...to transform these
once-unloved buildings...
-[woman] Has anything
fallen off?
-[man] Nothing serious.
[narrator]
...into incredible homes...
...And businesses.
-[cheers and applause]
-It's been better than
we could ever imagine.
[narrator]
There’ll be triumphs...
Another big step forward.
[narrator]
...and setbacks...
[Nigel]
Don’t put it on the side,
do not get it on the
tile.
[narrator]
But however hard
the going gets...
Ahh!
[narrator] ...those who’ve
made the move...
[Nigel]
That's a perfect fit.
[narrator]
...get to live the dream
as custodians of their
very own castle.
Today, with chainsaws
at the ready,
one couple take on
an ambitious pool house
project.
[Edward] If I get it wrong,
it's going to look a pig’s ear
and I’m going to be in trouble.
[narrator]
These Chateau owner’s
renovations...
[Debbie]
This is the heaviest ones,
isn’t it?
[narrator]
mean they have to embrace
basement living.
Ahh!
It’s like being in the prison,
looking through the bars.
It is. [laughs]
[narrator]
And this couple attempt to
give one of their bedrooms
an opulent makeover...
-[Jayne] Whoo-hoo!
-[Steve] That’s the way
to do it.
[narrator]
...with high expectations.
My God, I spent
four years on my back
painting the ceiling.
[Jayne]
What, the Sistine Chapel? Yeah.
[laughs]
[narrator]
Around 3000 Brits a year,
choose to get married
in France.
And with numbers increasing,
Chateau owners across
the country
have their work cut out
to keep up
with the growing demand.
This is the stunning
15th Century 22-room
Chateau Lagorce,
which sits in a massive
71 acres of land.
It's run as a luxury
wedding venue,
and was bought for
£890,000 back in 2003.
But ever since moving in,
Stockport-born Edward
and Kosovan wife Anna,
have not slowed down
with renovations.
I thought "Yeah, I'll be done
in five years’ time. "
No, it's a lifetime's worth
of work to renovate
a place as historic
and there's larger...
[Anna] We're not going to
be done soon
because there's always
something to do
and when you think
you're done with something,
Edward brings up
something more
so it's ongoing but...
one day, one day I'm hoping
we’ll be-- we’ll be done.
[narrator]
Located just outside Bordeaux
in southwest France,
they also have their
hands full with
their two children.
Four-year-old Charles
and six-month-old Emma.
But this hasn't stopped them
tackling new projects.
Edward has already started to
turn part of the Chateau caves
into a new wine venue,
but work has been
put on hold because
the company delivering
the concrete for the new floor
brought the wrong pump.
You can't let it kind of
eat you because otherwise,
you're not going to get
anything done, so...
We've got other jobs
to be doing,
so we're going to get on
with the other jobs.
[narrator]
Not one to be stopped,
Edward has now
turned his attention
to a new project,
the outdoor pool area,
which hasn't been touched
in years.
Anna wants to get rid of
the old pool house
and replace it with
something more extravagant
and she's already got
something mapped out.
Would be nice to have a small
little, like, pretty much like
a Greek style,
like, a mini house.
And we want to do like a
stadium with a flat rooftop
and we can have a DJ there
and have
a little pool party area.
[Edward]
Whenever we do things,
it's kind of always on
steroids, isn't it?
Can't just have a guy DJ
down by the pool
-we have to have them
on the roof.
-Hopefully.
[narrator] Before Edward
can get to work
making his
wife's dream a reality,
he has to demolish
the old pool house.
With a helping hand from
workers Brian and Cyril,
they're hoping it will
be a pretty simple job.
Edward wants to reuse
all the wiring that connects
to the pool.
So he needs to make sure
nothing gets damaged.
That’s okay Eddie, that’s good.
[narrator]
For safety, the power has
been switched off,
but if he cuts through
any wires,
it would create more work.
[Edward] Go and push
that through, Bri.
[narrator]
Now it's just a case of
preserving the fuse box.
[grunts]
I’m going to start
the mini digger, okay?
That’s the last thing.
[narrator]
To knock the pool house down,
Edward seeks help
from his trusty digger,
which should make
light work
of the old structure.
But as with most Chateau jobs,
it's never simple.
[Edward]
It came down nice and easy,
but the problem is we renovated
the roof about two years ago
and the roof’s stronger
than the rest of the structure.
So we kind of got this roof
piece, all in one piece.
So I'm going to just give it
a little bit of persuasion
again,
hopefully it'll break up
a little bit.
I'm going to give it
a go anyway.
[narrator]
A bit of gentle persuasion
seems to have done the trick.
Now they just have to
clear the mess.
So it's going to look a lot
better than I thought
it was going to go.
It would have taken us hours
to break that up with a hammer
and whatnot.
So hopefully, I've saved
quite a bit of time there.
The worrying thing is
it's point of no return now.
[narrator]
It's been a good start,
but the real challenge will be
to actually build
Anna’s dream pool house.
Around 15% of France is
made up of regional parklands
and wildlife reserves.
So being situated near one
is a real asset.
The majestic 19th Century
Chateau Gioux
boasts five acres of land
adjoining the magnificent
Millevaches Regional Park.
Come on. Roxy!
[narrator] Yorkshire couple
Nigel and Debbie
invested their life savings
in the 23-room property,
snapping it up for
£280,000 in 2019.
We live in-- living here
and working together,
it really is
an enjoyable experience.
[Debbie]
It's a different lifestyle
altogether.
It is very rural, very quiet.
We have something special here
that we'd like
people to know about.
[narrator]
Located 30 miles east
of Limoges,
-[Nigel] Oh, wow.
-[Debbie] What do you think?
Hey, that looks fantastic.
[narrator]
Former farm shop manager
Debbie and ex-bar owner Nigel
have already renovated
three bedrooms
and opened them
to paying customers.
[Debbie] Welcome.
[narrator]
Now they're transforming
their own bedroom and office
into the Chateau’s
first-ever family suite.
The family suite is the most
expensive suite in the house.
So if you get a
week's income from that,
it does help quite
dramatically.
[Nigel]
And the additional income
is going to be very useful
That will go towards paying
for the renovations
-and to keep the
Chateau afloat.
-Yeah.
[narrator]
The old bathroom
has been ripped out
and completely modernised,
but they are far
from finished.
We've got quite a lot of work
still to do, haven't we ?
To get that ready,
guests ready.
We're obviously still
in there at the moment.
[narrator]
To make way for paying guests,
Debbie and Nigel have decided
to move their bedroom
into the cellar,
which is currently
being used for storage.
They must now create
a bedroom out of nothing,
but with guests due,
they are up against the clock.
[Debbie]
We've got guests
coming in a few days
and we need to basically
get ourselves out
and into the cellar into
our emergency accommodation.
[narrator]
With little money
to buy new furniture
and decorate
their new quarters,
they've decided to up-cycle
old pieces
into things of beauty.
First task is to reinvigorate
a disheveled washstand
for the new bathroom,
which Debbie bought
from a friend for 40 euros,
about £34.
[Debbie]
One man's junk
is another man's treasure.
You know,
you'd look up and think,
"What a load of rubbish"
but actually, you can--
if you spend a bit of time,
you can do
quite a lot with things
and there is
a lot of satisfaction
in making something look pretty
that was once...
[chuckles] fairly grotty.
[narrator]
The washstand base
may just need a lick of paint,
but mending the split-marble
back is a much trickier task.
[Nigel]
I’m going to try and repair
with some epoxy resin,
leave it to set,
try and get a bit of pressure
on it if I can.
So I'm using a ratchet strap.
[narrator]
Ratchet straps
are generally used
for holding down luggage
during transport.
So Nigel's definitely thinking
outside the box
by using it to secure
the marble while
the resin sets.
All right. So of course,
try and apply a bit of
pressure.
Just pull this in,
it should tighten the...
Pushing it up, so I don't
need to-- so it's just about
tight enough about now...
it’s nice and straight
and tight.
[narrator] To replace whole
marble pieces like this
could cost hundreds of pounds.
So Nigel's ingenuity
will certainly help
keep costs down.
Good. So I need to leave
that now 24 hours to set.
[narrator]
Debbie's and Nigel's
thrifty solutions
may be making their
temporary basement home
much more appealing,
but they still have to
decorate and refurbish
the new family suite upstairs
in time for paying guests.
-Coming up...
-[Jayne] Whoo-hoo!
[narrator]
One couple's new bedroom
is reduced to ruins.
-[Jayne] Whoa!
-[Steve] That's the way
to do it.
[narrator]
This family enjoys
the fruits of their labour.
[Rebecca] I don't think
I'd call myself an expert
but an enthusiastic amateur
jam maker would be
what I’d call myself.
-[Debbie] You there?
-[Nigel] Yeah.
[narrator]
And in Debbie and Nigel's
new basement bedroom,
struggles continue.
[Debbie] Don’t stand on those.
Oh, Ni--
[narrator]
More than 90% of France
is made up of countryside
and farmland.
In the rural Southern
Occitanie region,
lies the impressive
19th Century Chateau Thuries.
It boasts 23 rooms,
and is set in four acres
of woodland.
The lucky owners are
Gloucestershire couple,
Jayne and Steve,
who quit their jobs
two years ago,
when they bought the place
for a bargain £400,000.
It has been very rewarding,
so far. It's been ...
-eventful.
-Well, you've loved the house
-and doing up which is
what your dream was.
-[Jayne] Yeah.
And I don't work anymore.
So, it's great.
What do you mean,
you don't work anymore?
No, I mean,
work, work.
He works harder now
than he did any time before.
-I work for us. I work for us.
-Yes, that's true.
[narrator]
Located an hour's drive
from Toulouse,
they run the Chateau
as a luxury BnB
and are spending the offseason
making major improvements.
Have you read
the instructions manual?
[narrator]
They've recently
transformed the terrace
into a relaxing place
for guests to unwind.
-[Jayne] This is the life.
-This is the life, isn’t it?
At last.
[narrator] Now their attention
has turned back inside,
where they're
planning to create
another BnB bedroom
to optimize their income.
And it's set to be their most
extravagant renovation yet.
[Jayne] I want to create
something that's
along the lines of
the French Renaissance.
It's going to look
very decorative,
very Louis the XVI
-and very beautiful.
-[Steve] Lots of gold .
-Lots of gold?
-We will have gold.
Yes, there will be gold.
Ooh!
[narrator]
With Jayne's heart set on
creating her very own
Palace de Versailles,
Steve has his work cut out.
What I wanted to do was
try a big long headboard,
which would be the same
height--
[Steve]
Because there's going to be
twin beds,
sometimes together,
sometimes apart.
Exactly. And then what I'll do,
I'll make some kind of frames,
which I can then either stencil
or we can wallpaper
directly onto the wall.
Okay, so this is the
Renaissance room.
So, we've got to make it look
very kind of elaborate and--
Do I got to spend four years
on my back to painting
the ceiling?
[Jayne]
What the Sistine Chapel? Yeah.
[both laugh]
[narrator]
Probably best not to
encourage her too much.
In order to make
this suite feel palatial,
they first need
to add more space.
Yeah, we don't need
that hallway
and once we take that down,
it'll mean that
the bathroom area
-is more of an ensuite
rather than a separate room.
-[Steve] Exactly.
[narrator]
As Steve starts to
demolish the walls...
Is it coffee time, yet?
No, come on, you got to
get a wall down first.
[narrator]
Jayne has the task
of clearing away the debris.
[Steve] Just try that.
[narrator]
Steve has rigged up
a gangplank
to get rid of the rubble.
Okay. Here we go.
[grunts]
-Yeah, that's no good,
isn’t it?
-[Jayne] Typical, isn't it?
-[Steve] Yeah.
-[Jayne] Getting it up
on that gangplank.
[Steve]
That's rubbish.
Yeah, okay,
this may be good run up.
[narrator]
Steve's going to have to
come up
with a better way to
remove the bricks
if they want to
keep things efficient.
I'll tell you what,
we'll clear this
and we'll exchange tracks.
-We’ll put it in buckets
out the window.
-Okay.
[narrator]
Having come up
with a new plan,
he makes short work
of the rest of the wall.
[Jayne] Whoo-hoo!
Look at that.
Whoa.
[Steve]
That's the way to do it.
[narrator]
And in little over an hour...
[Jayne]
Yeah, that’s it.
[narrator]
It's pretty much job done.
[Steve]
One, two, three up.
-Brilliant.
-[Jayne] Okay.
-Let’s have a look then.
-[Steve] Wow!
Everything is real
clear up now.
[laughs]
[narrator]
Let's just hope
getting rid of the mess
is easy as
the second time around.
It’s fun, isn’t it?
Having a Chateau.
[narrator]
At least Jayne can see
the fruits of their labour.
[Jayne] We've been dying to
knock this down for so long.
So it's good to see it
all come to fruition now.
[narrator]
It's certainly a start,
but there's a lot more to do
before her vision for the room
can become a reality.
All over France,
many Chateau owners
have taken a leap of faith
by trading in the old
9:00 to 5:00
for a new life in
a spectacular setting.
Now they're finding
themselves rewarded
with time to indulge
in the things they love.
Nestled in
15 acres of countryside,
in the Pays de la Loire
is BnB Chateau de la Ruche.
Owner Rebecca has
a passion for preserving
her own produce.
[Rebecca] We grow lots of fruit
and veg here at the Chateau.
It's just really nice to be
able to grow your own things
and then turn it into something
that your guests can enjoy
and that the children
can enjoy, too.
[narrator]
One of the things that guests
and family alike love
is Rebecca's homemade jam.
[Rebecca] You need
a lot of jam in France
with croissants for breakfast
and fresh bread every day,
so we get through
two or three jars a week.
So lots of jam-making
goes on here.
Mum has always made jam
and my grandma as well,
so it's kind of something
that I learned
when I was very young.
I don't think I'd call
myself an expert
but an enthusiastic
amateur jam maker
would be what I call myself.
[narrator]
Today with a bumper
crop of raspberries
ready for the picking,
enthusiastic amateur Rebecca
is planning on cooking up
a new batch
and she's called in
10-year-old son Rufus
to help with the harvest.
We need the nice ripe
juicy ones for the jam.
-You got lots... over here.
-[Rebecca] Merci.
And what happens if there's
white bits on them?
-[Rebecca] They're fine.
-[Rufus] Granny told me that
means ours is done.
Well, who's talking
with Granny, hey?
Look, there's loads down here,
look. At boy height.
[narrator]
Back in the Chateau kitchen,
Rebecca is ready
to make her jam
using just three ingredients.
Raspberries, sugar, and lemon.
Normally, when people make jam,
they do equal weights
of fruit and sugar.
I don't do that because
I don't like my jam
to taste too sugary.
So I've got a kilo
of raspberries here
and I'm going to use
800 grams of castor sugar.
[narrator]
To that she adds
some lemon juice
and leaves to bubble away
for as long as it takes
to thicken.
[Rebecca]
It's quite nice to have time
by myself in the kitchen.
It's just a really lovely
thing to do.
[narrator]
And childhood experiences
have shown it's a process
that shouldn't be rushed.
I remember one time
making plum jam
n a pressure cooker
with my grandma
and just to speed it all up...
And the release valve
pinged off
and this shower of jam
went up into the air
and covered the entire
kitchen the ceiling.
We were basically
shrieking under tea towel.
It took a lot of cleaning up,
there was plum jam
absolutely everywhere.
[narrator]
Finally, it's time
to check the set.
[Rebecca] I've got a cold plate
that I've had in the fridge
and I'm just putting a
little bit of the jam in
and wait for it to cool a bit.
You can see it's starting
to wrinkle on the surface
so we're really not that
far off and that's still
quite warm on there.
It kind of flakes off
the spoon when it gets there.
So you see it's
starting to gel.
I'm quite happy with that.
So I am going to
put that into my jars.
[narrator] Now it's over
to jam connoisseurs
Laurie and Rufus
and Rebecca's husband Tim.
-[Rebecca]
Who's ready for pancakes?
-[kids] Me!
[Rebecca] Okay, cool.
[Tim] And how cool is that?
[Rebecca]
And the jam's there
so help yourself.
[Tim] Pancakes with mommy's
freshly made raspberry jam.
-[Rebecca] How is that, guys?
-Nice.
Yummy, yummy,
yummy and yummy.
[narrator]
While the boys savour the jam,
Rebecca is happy to savour
the moment.
[Rebecca]
This is one of the reasons we
moved to France ,
really to be able to grow
our own fruit and veg and ...
make all our own homemade
products and everything
and have some family time
and enjoy country life
together.
[narrator]
Back at Chateau Gioux,
in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine
region south of the Loire,
Yorkshire couple
Nigel and Debbie...
-All right,
so start clearing.
-So, let’s--
Yeah, we need to
start clearing.
[narrator]
Have only got a few days left
to finish
the new family suite,
and to complete their move
into the basement
before their guests arrive.
[Debbie]
We've got huge time pressures
to get the bedroom done.
It's a matter of getting
our bed out of the bedroom.
The new French bed,
the new old French bed
that we've reupholstered
and all the bedding on,
cleaned, guest ready.
What's the best way
of doing it?
Hang on. It’s got
the handles at the side.
-Is it?
-Yeah.
-Okay, so over the back.
-If you lift your end--
Just straight
and over the back.
No, because it--
No, just leave--
-Hang on.
-Right.
Lift up and over. Yeah.
That’s it.
And then if we-- yeah.
[narrator]
It's out with the old
and in with the new.
These new mattresses
are really light, aren’t they?
[narrator] The bed going in
is an up-cycled 30 euro frame
that Debbie has reupholstered
with the addition
of a new mattress.
I'll need some anti-stress
to do with that.
[both sigh]
[laughs]
[narrator]
But there's no time
to sleep on the job.
whilst Debbie gives the brand
new bathroom a clean
and bids farewell to luxury
I've never had a shower
as big as this before,
so it's been absolutely great.
I've loved it.
So it's a little bit of
a wrench to leave it,
yeah, little bit of a wrench.
[narrator]
Down in the new
basement bathroom,
Nigel's cracking on
and installing
the up-cycled washbasin.
It looks good.
I'm pleased with that.
The big crack down the back
that we repaired yesterday,
I find it--
So I'm quite pleased for...
40 euro washstand, it’s good.
[narrator]
A great bit of up-cycling.
Now, they need to down-cycle
their bed to the basement.
-[Debbie] This is
the heaviest one, isn't it?
-[Nigel] Yeah.
[narrator] Navigating
the stairs and thin corridors
of the basement
is not the easiest
when hauling
a heavy bed frame
and mattress.
This is so heavier than
that new mattress, isn’t it?
It’s easier going down than up.
[Debbie laughs]
-Are you there?
-[Nigel] Yeah.
Great.
And then we can lift it
straight across.
-[Nigel] It’s easy.
-Don’t stand on those.
Oh, Nigel.
Right. Up!
[Debbie sighs]
I need to have a bit of
a Hoover on it I think.
I need to lie down.
God.
-Ahh!
-[chuckles]
[sighs]
Look, you and me--
You better
get used to this now.
It’s quite a nice view,
it's like being in prison,
looking through the bars.
-[Debbie] It is.
-[both laugh]
[Debbie sighs]
You can sort of get an idea,
can't you,
of how it might
eventually look.
That's what in my mind's eye,
that's--
that's what I'm trying
to envisage.
[laughs]
[narrator]
Their new basement bedroom
may not be five-star
accommodation,
but it's the guests'
comfort that matters
and their family suite
is well on its way.
Coming up...
-Jayne struggles...
[laughs]
[narrator]
...to get to grips
with her stenciling.
Edward starts
to feel the pressure.
[Edward] The stones are really
soft when they're wet.
So we are chipping
here and there.
[narrator]
As he attempts to fulfill
his wife and his vision
for the new pool house,
[Edward]
If I get it wrong,
it's going to look a pig's ear
and I'm going to be in trouble.
[narrator]
Bordeaux in the southwest
boasts nearly 200 days
of sunshine a year.
So it's the perfect
environment
for outdoor project s.
At Chateau Lagorce,
Edward has completed
the demolition of the old
shed by their pool.
And with Anna looking
after the kids,
he's relying on
builder mate Brian
to help him create her vision
of a Greek style pool house.
It’s only four meters long.
We have a doorway in the middle
and then we're going to
have two windows
so there's just going to be
little itsy-bitsy bits
of block here and there.
[narrator] Today's task
is to start building
the front of the pool house
from expensive
sandstone blocks.
But impressing Anna
is preying on Edward's mind.
I mean, this is the full
facade of the building.
If I get it wrong,
it's going to look a pig's ear
and I'm going to be in--
I'm going to be in trouble--
really in trouble with Anna.
[narrator]
To create the grand
Grecian effect,
Edward has splashed out.
The sandstone blocks set him
back over £3,000
so he will need to ensure
they fit perfectly.
[Edward] Okay, let's get some
tile adhesive mixed
and we can get going.
[narrator]
Instead of traditional mortar,
they've opted for an adhesive,
which is normally used
for fitting tiles.
Not only is it stronger,
it's also easier to apply.
And to make sure the blocks
are spaced evenly,
Edward has come
up with a clever idea.
The blocks have to sit on
a fair amount of tile adhesive,
so I took these mosaic tiles
from local DIY store.
They're a decent thickness,
they’re made of stone
so they can just be left in--
in the joint
and we get a uniform joint.
So the even-- for the kind of
people with the eye,
they'll still see that
everything's neat
and as it should be,
like my wife. [chuckles]
Ready. Let’s go.
The idea is we put it on
its-- squelches it, you know?
[narrator]
The trick is not to go
overboard with the adhesive.
[Edward]
Little bit too much.
So we need about half of what
you put on last time.
[narrator]
The problem with too much
is things can get messy,
but as the wall goes up,
Edward's discovered
another issue.
We’re discovering that
as the stone's very wet,
first of all, very heavy,
but the stones are
really soft when they're wet.
So we are chipping
here and there
but it's part and parcel of it
and it's part of
the character really.
If it was perfect-perfect,
then it probably
wouldn't look right.
[narrator]
Let’s hope Anna agrees,
but at least they're making
steady progress.
Back a bit.
Today we should be able to
get three, four rows up.
It's Brian's birthday
on Saturday
and I told him if he's
not finished the facade,
which is what,
what day are we today,
Brian? Thursday?
So he's got two days--
well, no, he's got one day
to finish the facade,
otherwise he's working
on his birthday.
[narrator]
No pressure then, Brian.
[narrator]
150 miles southeast
at Chateau Thuries...
Jayne and Steve’s
opulent Renaissance suite
has come on leaps and bounds.
They've put in a new floor
and wall panels,
but it's the ceiling that
really takes your breath away.
They've put up a Sistine
Chapel inspired wallpaper
that cost just under £400.
[Steve] It was a hard job to
put up and do. But I think
it's gonna be worth it.
-But I just wanted one room
in the Chateau.
-Over the top--
That was a bit over the top.
Hopefully, we've achieved it.
[Steve] Oh, it's so opulent.
I think we should
double the price.
[both laugh]
We spent so much
money on it,
it’s going to take us
five years
to get our money back.
[both laugh]
[Steve]
One, two, three, up.
It’s heavy.
[narrator] As the wallpaper
was a large expense,
Jayne has managed to
save some money
by making the giant
headboard herself.
[Jayne] It’s in.
Apart from the gluing.
Oh, what's happened?
What have you done there?
Don’t blame me. Sweaty hands.
[laughs]
What do you reckon?
It's like a, you know, when
you go into a posh pub
in a big long bar.
[Jayne]
Oh, yeah. I like it.
[Steve]
And where you can
sit down and--
-[Jayne] That's looking good.
-Well done, sweetheart.
Aw, well done.
[narrator]
Jayne's extravagant vision
is starting to take shape.
She now wants to emulate
the palatial spirit
of the Renaissance
on the walls.
So what I've got here,
I've got some stencils,
which are very French,
reminiscent of Marie Antoinette
and all of that sort of thing.
And...
what I wanted to do
was create some kind of
Renaissance feel
to the paneling.
[narrator]
Jayne is no stranger
to stenciling
as she used the technique
when she decorated the floor
in the Chateau’s Orangery.
But even with
her extensive experience...
[laughs]
[narrator]
making the stencils behave
isn't easy.
-[Jayne] So I need your help.
-[Steve] Okay .
Got to make sure that
I get it absolutely
in the center.
And it's absolutely straight.
Otherwise,
when I put the paint on,
-it'll all look skewy.
-Yeah.
So I can measure it up
with where the middle is here,
but there's a center point
marked on the panel
at the bottom.
-Yeah.
-[Jayne] And then there's
on the panel at the bottom,
-Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
-[Jayne]Yeah right.
And we need to marry that up
with the centre point.
[Steve] All right.
All right needs to come over.
That's about-- That's it.
Do you want me to put the--
push up the square up for you?
-[Jayne] No.
-No, you don’t need it.
-I don't think it's going to
work actually.
-[Steve] It's square?
[Jayne] But that is-- it's 18
on this side
and 10 and a half
on that side.
Which means it's
not centered at the top,
So that's got to over
to the right.
-That's spot on, Jayne.
-It's square.
-[Steve] Here.
-[Jayne] Right.
-And that is definitely
in the centre, is it?
-[Steve] Yeah.
[narrator]
Getting the stencil
correctly placed...
[Steve] That’s spot on.
[narrator]
...is only the first
part of the task.
Now the next worry is that
I'm going to use
the wrong colours.
But I think we'll just
have to, you know,
cross that bridge
when we come to it.
[narrator] The stenciling
is a massive job,
especially in a room
this size.
[Jayne] I’m feeling a bit tired
and a bit fed up
with it all now
because there's
the light's no good,
and I don't want to mess it up
just because I can't
see really properly.
So I think we're going to
leave it and call it
a day today
and I'll have another look
at it freshly in the morning.
[narrator]
With only one panel underway,
let's hope a good night's
sleep gives Jayne the energy
to finish
her Renaissance dream.
170 miles to the north
back at Chateau Gioux,
the first guest to stay in
the new family suite
will soon be arriving.
So Debbie's working flat out.
[Debbie]
I'm at the bed making stage
which is also,
you know, the final stages.
I'm feeling really
happy with it.
So this is like
the final touches,
which is a great feeling
because this bedroom
has taken a long time.
Yeah, from start to finish.
So to get to this stage is,
is a really big--
a big thing for us.
[narrator]
The renovation
is finally complete.
What was a tired
and outdated bathroom
is now refreshed
and modern.
The old office
has been transformed
into a child-friendly den
with painted twin beds.
What was once Debbie
and Nigel's old bedroom
now boasts a comfortable
and chic French bed,
surrounded by
luxurious peacock wallpaper.
[Debbie] It’s finished.
Ready for action.
-It looks really special.
-Clean-- it looks
really special.
I'm really sorry to be
leaving the family suite,
but it's one of those things
that we need to do
for business.
I think sometimes you have to
take one step sidewards,
or even backwards to go
two steps forward,
and we're having to do that,
to achieve our aims.
[Debbie]
And when we don't have guests,
there's nothing to stop us
coming up here and sitting
and having a glass of wine
and enjoying it,
just like we do normally.
So it's not --
-it's not like we're
giving it up forever, is it?
-No.
[narrator]
But what will
the guests think?
Luckily, they're not
complete strangers.
Nigel's brother Mike
and his wife Martha
have come to visit
from the UK.
[Mike]
Just really excited
to see the new room
I know they’ve been spending
a lot of time,
quite a lot of effort into it,
so...
looking forward to it, really.
Oh, wow.
Okay. Yeah.
Yeah, I love that.
[Martha] It's beautiful.
I like the way
that you've picked up
the purples and blues
in the bedding as well.
-[Debbie] Do you like it?
-[Martha] I'm blown away there.
-[Debbie] Are you? Yeah?
-[Martha] I just-- Oh!
[Mike]
It looked different the
last time we were here.
[Steve]
Just a little bit, yeah.
[Martha] Just a bit.
In here we have the...
It was Debbie’s dressing room,
but now a family room.
So there's two more
single beds.
Couldn’t wait for family
how good it is
-that you're all, the same...
-[Debbie] Yes.
Same bedroom...
[Debbie]
Yes, it's a really sort
of versatile room.
[Martha]
I think it's really special.
-I love it, Debbie.
-Thank you. Thanks, Martha.
[narrator]
The new family suite,
with its beautifully
refurbished bathroom,
looks to have been
well worth the effort.
If Martha and Mike's
reactions are anything
to go by,
it could boost
their BnB business
and help fund future projects.
-We're very proud of it.
-Very proud of it.
Very happy to have it done.
I mean, we still have a
huge list of things to do
from the attic
to the orangery,
which is a big
expensive project.
So maybe when
we've had this summer,
letting the rooms out,
we'll see what
our finances are like.
Then we'll look again
at what next we need to do.
[narrator] Coming up...
Jayne and Steve's opulent
Renaissance suite
nears completion.
[Jayne]
This is the exciting thing.
When what you've got
in your head,
you can see it
come to fruition,
which is lovely.
[narrator]
And Anna arrives
to meticulously check
Edward’s pool renovations.
[Anna]
There's a broken log there.
Did you think I was
going to miss that one?
[groans]
[narrator]
In southern France,
Jayne and Steve's
fifth and final guest bedroom,
the Renaissance suite,
is almost complete.
All it needs now
is a little stylish dressing.
This is the exciting thing
when you can sort of
what you've got in your head ,
you can see it come to
fruition, which is lovely.
[narrator]
Jayne had intended to
decorate the wall panels
with colourful stencils,
echoing the extravagant
ceiling.
What I was going to do was
kind of do some
Marie Antoinette
style stenciling in there.
And I did one panel,
which looked quite nice,
but I just had this feeling
that it was just going
to be too much.
And what I didn't want to do
was have a really, really
ridiculously busy room.
So I've painted over
all the stenciling that I did.
-And we--
-[Steve] I painted over it.
All right, okay,
you painted over it
And we've now
got just plain walls,
which are
an off-shade of white
and are very light
and beautiful.
[narrator] And it means
Jayne can go to town
on her accent pieces
with apiece de resistance,
a gilt antique dressing screen
bought online for £110.
We need to zigzag it a bit.
[Steve] Oh, zigzag it.
I thought you do it
like that. Oh.
-Oh! No, you don't
do it like that.
-Okay.
[Jayne]
I mean, this room has been
a completely different planet,
completely, to normal.
We wouldn’t be doing this
in our own bedroom.
-Yeah.
-[Steve] Let's put it that way.
-You go above and beyond,
don't you, really?
-[Steve] Yeah.
[Jayne]
You go that little bit further
to make something special
and that's actually one of
the joys of living in
a Chateau, isn't it?
That you're not restricted
by anything you can just...
you've just got
carte blanche to do...
whatever you want to do.
Let your imagination run wild.
Jayne does what she wants.
[laughs] Most of the time.
Most of the time.
[narrator] Since they bought
the Chateau two and a half
years ago,
this unloved
ground-floor box room
was nothing more
than a storage dump.
Now, it's an opulent
extra guest bedroom
with clean paneled walls,
a striking
Renaissance-style ceiling,
and antique pieces,
which nod
to the palaces of France.
Knocking the wall down
has increased the space
and by adding a bedroom,
they could potentially boost
their BnB income by 20%.
The feel of the room
is lovely and ...
the bare bones, the things
that we've got in there
at the moment,
are really lovely.
[Steve]
Compares with the other
guest bedrooms in that
it's up there with
the rest of them.
In fact, I think we're getting
better at doing it, actually.
I think there's a theme
in all five rooms,
and I think
it's up there with them.
[narrator]
In France, you can
only rent five bedrooms
when operating as a BnB.
With no more rooms
to renovate,
Jayne and Steve can hopefully
start to reap the rewards
of all their hard work.
We're nearly there.
I mean, we can see
the light at
the end of the tunnel
as far as renovations inside
the Chateau are concerned.
[Steve] Yeah, I think
we're almost there.
I mean, obviously, the terrace
will be improving
and certain rooms
will be improving,
but the investment
should start slowing down,
[narrator]
Which leaves them free
to concentrate
on Jayne's next idea
for the Chateau.
I'm quite excited
actually about the future
because we've got lots of
courses that we're going
to be running.
So there's lots
of art courses,
we might have
some wellness retreats.
Let's do food and gastronomy
weeks, as well.
-Mm-hmm.
-So it's quite exciting.
[narrator]
Over in southwest France,
at Chateau Lagorce,
it's been a busy six months.
But Anna and Edward’s
pool area is almost complete.
I thought it was
going to be done
a good four
to six weeks ago,
Putting balustrades
on the front of the building
should have been an easy job
but it didn't
turn out that way.
It's all heavy work
and takes a lot longer
than you think.
When I got the guy in to
do the pool house roof,
I got to paint
all of the pool as well,
I repaired a couple of leaks
on the pool, too.
I'm really almost there
with the pool area now
so a bit of finishing off
inside the pool house.
I'm hoping Anna will be happy
with what I've done.
I mean, even now
before it's finished,
I look at it from
the top terrace
and it just makes me
smile every time.
[narrator]
To finish it all off,
Edward is putting
the icing on the cake.
[speaking in French]
[narrator]
He has bought
36 new sun loungers
and has roped in
Cyril to help.
[speaking French]
[narrator]
With Anna being
a stickler for detail,
they can't leave
anything to chance.
The setup I'm looking for
really is mainly for the next,
you know,
the next day after the wedding,
kind of like a beach club
kind of feel to it
with hopefully the DJ up
on the balcony up there.
And everyone just
having a great time
around the pool,
but it has to look right.
[narrator]
But they don't have
any more time.
-[Anna] Wow.
-[narrator] As Anna arrives
for an inspection.
It's looking really good.
Well done, honey.
Are you tired?
Yeah, it's been
really hot today.
[Anna]
The colour's really nice.
I think I might
have a go on here.
Give it a try,
you will be the first one.
First ones ever.
Oh, that's good.
-That looks comfy.
-It feels good.
That looks really good.
No, you've done really well.
And they're all
perfectly aligned?
No, they're really good.
They're really nice.
And they have like,
the cup holder,
so if they have a drink,
they can put the drink.
[narrator]
But nothing can escape
Anna’s eye for detail.
There's a broken log there.
Did you think I was
going to miss that one?
[groans]
I can whizz up
and get a screwdriver.
It's only two screws, Anna.
I mean,
almost perfect, Ed.
[Edward]
Let me have a look.
You carry on looking,
make sure there's no other
problems.
Let's see what we got there.
[Anna]
He has to pay the price
of that broken log.
He has to go up 100 steps
in the heat,
and then get the screwdriver.
That's gonna be sorted.
Ed keeps a good sense of humor
because I'm always--
I'm always peaky. I'll always
see things that he won't see.
It's got its ups and downs,
but he--he puts up with me.
[Edward]
How’s that my lady?
Much better.
It’s looking perfect.
[narrator]
Six months ago,
their pool area
was dreary, dull and dated.
Now it's been transformed
into a stylish
and elegant place to relax,
and the perfect setting for
wedding afterparties.
The new pool house villa
just needs a bar area
and a toilet added inside.
And there's an outdoor shower
that's ready to use.
And with features such as
the balustrade,
the building has
its own unique style.
So we're really looking
forward to the next pool party
with a DJ on the roof.
It looks like as--
well, like a mini Greek villa
because that was
the vision in my head.
With the balustrade
in the stone walls,
the white windows,
it's the perfect pool area.
[Edward] Yeah, it's been
a hard, hard old slog.
[narrator]
Edward has managed
to pull it out of the bag,
but with a cave
still to finish,
his hard work
is far from over.
-Next time...
-Whee!
[narrator]
One couple come up with
a money making scheme.
You never know, Belinda.
-This could make us
both millionaires.
-Oh!
[narrator]
A request for help from
one Chateau owner...
Sorry, I've got some in here.
[laughs]
[narrator]
Could be more of a hindrance.
Why is this happening?
[woman]
Because you're going fast
and it's messy
and you don't listen
to instruction.
[narrator]
And the pressure is on
for Edward’s big
investment to pay off.
And we're talking getting on
towards 20,000 euros.
So it's kind of a
win-or-lose situation.
There's no medium ground.
[theme music plays]
there are thousands
of beautiful Chateau...
Many forgotten and abandoned .
Look at this!
[narrator] Now they’re being
brought back to life...
By adventurous Brits.
-Ooh!
-Wow!
[laugh]
[narrator] They’re taking on
the challenge...
I'm sure you both think
I'm bonkers for
making you do that.
[narrator]
...to transform these
once-unloved buildings...
-[woman] Has anything
fallen off?
-[man] Nothing serious.
[narrator]
...into incredible homes...
...And businesses.
-[cheers and applause]
-It's been better than
we could ever imagine.
[narrator]
There’ll be triumphs...
Another big step forward.
[narrator]
...and setbacks...
[Nigel]
Don’t put it on the side,
do not get it on the
tile.
[narrator]
But however hard
the going gets...
Ahh!
[narrator] ...those who’ve
made the move...
[Nigel]
That's a perfect fit.
[narrator]
...get to live the dream
as custodians of their
very own castle.
Today, with chainsaws
at the ready,
one couple take on
an ambitious pool house
project.
[Edward] If I get it wrong,
it's going to look a pig’s ear
and I’m going to be in trouble.
[narrator]
These Chateau owner’s
renovations...
[Debbie]
This is the heaviest ones,
isn’t it?
[narrator]
mean they have to embrace
basement living.
Ahh!
It’s like being in the prison,
looking through the bars.
It is. [laughs]
[narrator]
And this couple attempt to
give one of their bedrooms
an opulent makeover...
-[Jayne] Whoo-hoo!
-[Steve] That’s the way
to do it.
[narrator]
...with high expectations.
My God, I spent
four years on my back
painting the ceiling.
[Jayne]
What, the Sistine Chapel? Yeah.
[laughs]
[narrator]
Around 3000 Brits a year,
choose to get married
in France.
And with numbers increasing,
Chateau owners across
the country
have their work cut out
to keep up
with the growing demand.
This is the stunning
15th Century 22-room
Chateau Lagorce,
which sits in a massive
71 acres of land.
It's run as a luxury
wedding venue,
and was bought for
£890,000 back in 2003.
But ever since moving in,
Stockport-born Edward
and Kosovan wife Anna,
have not slowed down
with renovations.
I thought "Yeah, I'll be done
in five years’ time. "
No, it's a lifetime's worth
of work to renovate
a place as historic
and there's larger...
[Anna] We're not going to
be done soon
because there's always
something to do
and when you think
you're done with something,
Edward brings up
something more
so it's ongoing but...
one day, one day I'm hoping
we’ll be-- we’ll be done.
[narrator]
Located just outside Bordeaux
in southwest France,
they also have their
hands full with
their two children.
Four-year-old Charles
and six-month-old Emma.
But this hasn't stopped them
tackling new projects.
Edward has already started to
turn part of the Chateau caves
into a new wine venue,
but work has been
put on hold because
the company delivering
the concrete for the new floor
brought the wrong pump.
You can't let it kind of
eat you because otherwise,
you're not going to get
anything done, so...
We've got other jobs
to be doing,
so we're going to get on
with the other jobs.
[narrator]
Not one to be stopped,
Edward has now
turned his attention
to a new project,
the outdoor pool area,
which hasn't been touched
in years.
Anna wants to get rid of
the old pool house
and replace it with
something more extravagant
and she's already got
something mapped out.
Would be nice to have a small
little, like, pretty much like
a Greek style,
like, a mini house.
And we want to do like a
stadium with a flat rooftop
and we can have a DJ there
and have
a little pool party area.
[Edward]
Whenever we do things,
it's kind of always on
steroids, isn't it?
Can't just have a guy DJ
down by the pool
-we have to have them
on the roof.
-Hopefully.
[narrator] Before Edward
can get to work
making his
wife's dream a reality,
he has to demolish
the old pool house.
With a helping hand from
workers Brian and Cyril,
they're hoping it will
be a pretty simple job.
Edward wants to reuse
all the wiring that connects
to the pool.
So he needs to make sure
nothing gets damaged.
That’s okay Eddie, that’s good.
[narrator]
For safety, the power has
been switched off,
but if he cuts through
any wires,
it would create more work.
[Edward] Go and push
that through, Bri.
[narrator]
Now it's just a case of
preserving the fuse box.
[grunts]
I’m going to start
the mini digger, okay?
That’s the last thing.
[narrator]
To knock the pool house down,
Edward seeks help
from his trusty digger,
which should make
light work
of the old structure.
But as with most Chateau jobs,
it's never simple.
[Edward]
It came down nice and easy,
but the problem is we renovated
the roof about two years ago
and the roof’s stronger
than the rest of the structure.
So we kind of got this roof
piece, all in one piece.
So I'm going to just give it
a little bit of persuasion
again,
hopefully it'll break up
a little bit.
I'm going to give it
a go anyway.
[narrator]
A bit of gentle persuasion
seems to have done the trick.
Now they just have to
clear the mess.
So it's going to look a lot
better than I thought
it was going to go.
It would have taken us hours
to break that up with a hammer
and whatnot.
So hopefully, I've saved
quite a bit of time there.
The worrying thing is
it's point of no return now.
[narrator]
It's been a good start,
but the real challenge will be
to actually build
Anna’s dream pool house.
Around 15% of France is
made up of regional parklands
and wildlife reserves.
So being situated near one
is a real asset.
The majestic 19th Century
Chateau Gioux
boasts five acres of land
adjoining the magnificent
Millevaches Regional Park.
Come on. Roxy!
[narrator] Yorkshire couple
Nigel and Debbie
invested their life savings
in the 23-room property,
snapping it up for
£280,000 in 2019.
We live in-- living here
and working together,
it really is
an enjoyable experience.
[Debbie]
It's a different lifestyle
altogether.
It is very rural, very quiet.
We have something special here
that we'd like
people to know about.
[narrator]
Located 30 miles east
of Limoges,
-[Nigel] Oh, wow.
-[Debbie] What do you think?
Hey, that looks fantastic.
[narrator]
Former farm shop manager
Debbie and ex-bar owner Nigel
have already renovated
three bedrooms
and opened them
to paying customers.
[Debbie] Welcome.
[narrator]
Now they're transforming
their own bedroom and office
into the Chateau’s
first-ever family suite.
The family suite is the most
expensive suite in the house.
So if you get a
week's income from that,
it does help quite
dramatically.
[Nigel]
And the additional income
is going to be very useful
That will go towards paying
for the renovations
-and to keep the
Chateau afloat.
-Yeah.
[narrator]
The old bathroom
has been ripped out
and completely modernised,
but they are far
from finished.
We've got quite a lot of work
still to do, haven't we ?
To get that ready,
guests ready.
We're obviously still
in there at the moment.
[narrator]
To make way for paying guests,
Debbie and Nigel have decided
to move their bedroom
into the cellar,
which is currently
being used for storage.
They must now create
a bedroom out of nothing,
but with guests due,
they are up against the clock.
[Debbie]
We've got guests
coming in a few days
and we need to basically
get ourselves out
and into the cellar into
our emergency accommodation.
[narrator]
With little money
to buy new furniture
and decorate
their new quarters,
they've decided to up-cycle
old pieces
into things of beauty.
First task is to reinvigorate
a disheveled washstand
for the new bathroom,
which Debbie bought
from a friend for 40 euros,
about £34.
[Debbie]
One man's junk
is another man's treasure.
You know,
you'd look up and think,
"What a load of rubbish"
but actually, you can--
if you spend a bit of time,
you can do
quite a lot with things
and there is
a lot of satisfaction
in making something look pretty
that was once...
[chuckles] fairly grotty.
[narrator]
The washstand base
may just need a lick of paint,
but mending the split-marble
back is a much trickier task.
[Nigel]
I’m going to try and repair
with some epoxy resin,
leave it to set,
try and get a bit of pressure
on it if I can.
So I'm using a ratchet strap.
[narrator]
Ratchet straps
are generally used
for holding down luggage
during transport.
So Nigel's definitely thinking
outside the box
by using it to secure
the marble while
the resin sets.
All right. So of course,
try and apply a bit of
pressure.
Just pull this in,
it should tighten the...
Pushing it up, so I don't
need to-- so it's just about
tight enough about now...
it’s nice and straight
and tight.
[narrator] To replace whole
marble pieces like this
could cost hundreds of pounds.
So Nigel's ingenuity
will certainly help
keep costs down.
Good. So I need to leave
that now 24 hours to set.
[narrator]
Debbie's and Nigel's
thrifty solutions
may be making their
temporary basement home
much more appealing,
but they still have to
decorate and refurbish
the new family suite upstairs
in time for paying guests.
-Coming up...
-[Jayne] Whoo-hoo!
[narrator]
One couple's new bedroom
is reduced to ruins.
-[Jayne] Whoa!
-[Steve] That's the way
to do it.
[narrator]
This family enjoys
the fruits of their labour.
[Rebecca] I don't think
I'd call myself an expert
but an enthusiastic amateur
jam maker would be
what I’d call myself.
-[Debbie] You there?
-[Nigel] Yeah.
[narrator]
And in Debbie and Nigel's
new basement bedroom,
struggles continue.
[Debbie] Don’t stand on those.
Oh, Ni--
[narrator]
More than 90% of France
is made up of countryside
and farmland.
In the rural Southern
Occitanie region,
lies the impressive
19th Century Chateau Thuries.
It boasts 23 rooms,
and is set in four acres
of woodland.
The lucky owners are
Gloucestershire couple,
Jayne and Steve,
who quit their jobs
two years ago,
when they bought the place
for a bargain £400,000.
It has been very rewarding,
so far. It's been ...
-eventful.
-Well, you've loved the house
-and doing up which is
what your dream was.
-[Jayne] Yeah.
And I don't work anymore.
So, it's great.
What do you mean,
you don't work anymore?
No, I mean,
work, work.
He works harder now
than he did any time before.
-I work for us. I work for us.
-Yes, that's true.
[narrator]
Located an hour's drive
from Toulouse,
they run the Chateau
as a luxury BnB
and are spending the offseason
making major improvements.
Have you read
the instructions manual?
[narrator]
They've recently
transformed the terrace
into a relaxing place
for guests to unwind.
-[Jayne] This is the life.
-This is the life, isn’t it?
At last.
[narrator] Now their attention
has turned back inside,
where they're
planning to create
another BnB bedroom
to optimize their income.
And it's set to be their most
extravagant renovation yet.
[Jayne] I want to create
something that's
along the lines of
the French Renaissance.
It's going to look
very decorative,
very Louis the XVI
-and very beautiful.
-[Steve] Lots of gold .
-Lots of gold?
-We will have gold.
Yes, there will be gold.
Ooh!
[narrator]
With Jayne's heart set on
creating her very own
Palace de Versailles,
Steve has his work cut out.
What I wanted to do was
try a big long headboard,
which would be the same
height--
[Steve]
Because there's going to be
twin beds,
sometimes together,
sometimes apart.
Exactly. And then what I'll do,
I'll make some kind of frames,
which I can then either stencil
or we can wallpaper
directly onto the wall.
Okay, so this is the
Renaissance room.
So, we've got to make it look
very kind of elaborate and--
Do I got to spend four years
on my back to painting
the ceiling?
[Jayne]
What the Sistine Chapel? Yeah.
[both laugh]
[narrator]
Probably best not to
encourage her too much.
In order to make
this suite feel palatial,
they first need
to add more space.
Yeah, we don't need
that hallway
and once we take that down,
it'll mean that
the bathroom area
-is more of an ensuite
rather than a separate room.
-[Steve] Exactly.
[narrator]
As Steve starts to
demolish the walls...
Is it coffee time, yet?
No, come on, you got to
get a wall down first.
[narrator]
Jayne has the task
of clearing away the debris.
[Steve] Just try that.
[narrator]
Steve has rigged up
a gangplank
to get rid of the rubble.
Okay. Here we go.
[grunts]
-Yeah, that's no good,
isn’t it?
-[Jayne] Typical, isn't it?
-[Steve] Yeah.
-[Jayne] Getting it up
on that gangplank.
[Steve]
That's rubbish.
Yeah, okay,
this may be good run up.
[narrator]
Steve's going to have to
come up
with a better way to
remove the bricks
if they want to
keep things efficient.
I'll tell you what,
we'll clear this
and we'll exchange tracks.
-We’ll put it in buckets
out the window.
-Okay.
[narrator]
Having come up
with a new plan,
he makes short work
of the rest of the wall.
[Jayne] Whoo-hoo!
Look at that.
Whoa.
[Steve]
That's the way to do it.
[narrator]
And in little over an hour...
[Jayne]
Yeah, that’s it.
[narrator]
It's pretty much job done.
[Steve]
One, two, three up.
-Brilliant.
-[Jayne] Okay.
-Let’s have a look then.
-[Steve] Wow!
Everything is real
clear up now.
[laughs]
[narrator]
Let's just hope
getting rid of the mess
is easy as
the second time around.
It’s fun, isn’t it?
Having a Chateau.
[narrator]
At least Jayne can see
the fruits of their labour.
[Jayne] We've been dying to
knock this down for so long.
So it's good to see it
all come to fruition now.
[narrator]
It's certainly a start,
but there's a lot more to do
before her vision for the room
can become a reality.
All over France,
many Chateau owners
have taken a leap of faith
by trading in the old
9:00 to 5:00
for a new life in
a spectacular setting.
Now they're finding
themselves rewarded
with time to indulge
in the things they love.
Nestled in
15 acres of countryside,
in the Pays de la Loire
is BnB Chateau de la Ruche.
Owner Rebecca has
a passion for preserving
her own produce.
[Rebecca] We grow lots of fruit
and veg here at the Chateau.
It's just really nice to be
able to grow your own things
and then turn it into something
that your guests can enjoy
and that the children
can enjoy, too.
[narrator]
One of the things that guests
and family alike love
is Rebecca's homemade jam.
[Rebecca] You need
a lot of jam in France
with croissants for breakfast
and fresh bread every day,
so we get through
two or three jars a week.
So lots of jam-making
goes on here.
Mum has always made jam
and my grandma as well,
so it's kind of something
that I learned
when I was very young.
I don't think I'd call
myself an expert
but an enthusiastic
amateur jam maker
would be what I call myself.
[narrator]
Today with a bumper
crop of raspberries
ready for the picking,
enthusiastic amateur Rebecca
is planning on cooking up
a new batch
and she's called in
10-year-old son Rufus
to help with the harvest.
We need the nice ripe
juicy ones for the jam.
-You got lots... over here.
-[Rebecca] Merci.
And what happens if there's
white bits on them?
-[Rebecca] They're fine.
-[Rufus] Granny told me that
means ours is done.
Well, who's talking
with Granny, hey?
Look, there's loads down here,
look. At boy height.
[narrator]
Back in the Chateau kitchen,
Rebecca is ready
to make her jam
using just three ingredients.
Raspberries, sugar, and lemon.
Normally, when people make jam,
they do equal weights
of fruit and sugar.
I don't do that because
I don't like my jam
to taste too sugary.
So I've got a kilo
of raspberries here
and I'm going to use
800 grams of castor sugar.
[narrator]
To that she adds
some lemon juice
and leaves to bubble away
for as long as it takes
to thicken.
[Rebecca]
It's quite nice to have time
by myself in the kitchen.
It's just a really lovely
thing to do.
[narrator]
And childhood experiences
have shown it's a process
that shouldn't be rushed.
I remember one time
making plum jam
n a pressure cooker
with my grandma
and just to speed it all up...
And the release valve
pinged off
and this shower of jam
went up into the air
and covered the entire
kitchen the ceiling.
We were basically
shrieking under tea towel.
It took a lot of cleaning up,
there was plum jam
absolutely everywhere.
[narrator]
Finally, it's time
to check the set.
[Rebecca] I've got a cold plate
that I've had in the fridge
and I'm just putting a
little bit of the jam in
and wait for it to cool a bit.
You can see it's starting
to wrinkle on the surface
so we're really not that
far off and that's still
quite warm on there.
It kind of flakes off
the spoon when it gets there.
So you see it's
starting to gel.
I'm quite happy with that.
So I am going to
put that into my jars.
[narrator] Now it's over
to jam connoisseurs
Laurie and Rufus
and Rebecca's husband Tim.
-[Rebecca]
Who's ready for pancakes?
-[kids] Me!
[Rebecca] Okay, cool.
[Tim] And how cool is that?
[Rebecca]
And the jam's there
so help yourself.
[Tim] Pancakes with mommy's
freshly made raspberry jam.
-[Rebecca] How is that, guys?
-Nice.
Yummy, yummy,
yummy and yummy.
[narrator]
While the boys savour the jam,
Rebecca is happy to savour
the moment.
[Rebecca]
This is one of the reasons we
moved to France ,
really to be able to grow
our own fruit and veg and ...
make all our own homemade
products and everything
and have some family time
and enjoy country life
together.
[narrator]
Back at Chateau Gioux,
in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine
region south of the Loire,
Yorkshire couple
Nigel and Debbie...
-All right,
so start clearing.
-So, let’s--
Yeah, we need to
start clearing.
[narrator]
Have only got a few days left
to finish
the new family suite,
and to complete their move
into the basement
before their guests arrive.
[Debbie]
We've got huge time pressures
to get the bedroom done.
It's a matter of getting
our bed out of the bedroom.
The new French bed,
the new old French bed
that we've reupholstered
and all the bedding on,
cleaned, guest ready.
What's the best way
of doing it?
Hang on. It’s got
the handles at the side.
-Is it?
-Yeah.
-Okay, so over the back.
-If you lift your end--
Just straight
and over the back.
No, because it--
No, just leave--
-Hang on.
-Right.
Lift up and over. Yeah.
That’s it.
And then if we-- yeah.
[narrator]
It's out with the old
and in with the new.
These new mattresses
are really light, aren’t they?
[narrator] The bed going in
is an up-cycled 30 euro frame
that Debbie has reupholstered
with the addition
of a new mattress.
I'll need some anti-stress
to do with that.
[both sigh]
[laughs]
[narrator]
But there's no time
to sleep on the job.
whilst Debbie gives the brand
new bathroom a clean
and bids farewell to luxury
I've never had a shower
as big as this before,
so it's been absolutely great.
I've loved it.
So it's a little bit of
a wrench to leave it,
yeah, little bit of a wrench.
[narrator]
Down in the new
basement bathroom,
Nigel's cracking on
and installing
the up-cycled washbasin.
It looks good.
I'm pleased with that.
The big crack down the back
that we repaired yesterday,
I find it--
So I'm quite pleased for...
40 euro washstand, it’s good.
[narrator]
A great bit of up-cycling.
Now, they need to down-cycle
their bed to the basement.
-[Debbie] This is
the heaviest one, isn't it?
-[Nigel] Yeah.
[narrator] Navigating
the stairs and thin corridors
of the basement
is not the easiest
when hauling
a heavy bed frame
and mattress.
This is so heavier than
that new mattress, isn’t it?
It’s easier going down than up.
[Debbie laughs]
-Are you there?
-[Nigel] Yeah.
Great.
And then we can lift it
straight across.
-[Nigel] It’s easy.
-Don’t stand on those.
Oh, Nigel.
Right. Up!
[Debbie sighs]
I need to have a bit of
a Hoover on it I think.
I need to lie down.
God.
-Ahh!
-[chuckles]
[sighs]
Look, you and me--
You better
get used to this now.
It’s quite a nice view,
it's like being in prison,
looking through the bars.
-[Debbie] It is.
-[both laugh]
[Debbie sighs]
You can sort of get an idea,
can't you,
of how it might
eventually look.
That's what in my mind's eye,
that's--
that's what I'm trying
to envisage.
[laughs]
[narrator]
Their new basement bedroom
may not be five-star
accommodation,
but it's the guests'
comfort that matters
and their family suite
is well on its way.
Coming up...
-Jayne struggles...
[laughs]
[narrator]
...to get to grips
with her stenciling.
Edward starts
to feel the pressure.
[Edward] The stones are really
soft when they're wet.
So we are chipping
here and there.
[narrator]
As he attempts to fulfill
his wife and his vision
for the new pool house,
[Edward]
If I get it wrong,
it's going to look a pig's ear
and I'm going to be in trouble.
[narrator]
Bordeaux in the southwest
boasts nearly 200 days
of sunshine a year.
So it's the perfect
environment
for outdoor project s.
At Chateau Lagorce,
Edward has completed
the demolition of the old
shed by their pool.
And with Anna looking
after the kids,
he's relying on
builder mate Brian
to help him create her vision
of a Greek style pool house.
It’s only four meters long.
We have a doorway in the middle
and then we're going to
have two windows
so there's just going to be
little itsy-bitsy bits
of block here and there.
[narrator] Today's task
is to start building
the front of the pool house
from expensive
sandstone blocks.
But impressing Anna
is preying on Edward's mind.
I mean, this is the full
facade of the building.
If I get it wrong,
it's going to look a pig's ear
and I'm going to be in--
I'm going to be in trouble--
really in trouble with Anna.
[narrator]
To create the grand
Grecian effect,
Edward has splashed out.
The sandstone blocks set him
back over £3,000
so he will need to ensure
they fit perfectly.
[Edward] Okay, let's get some
tile adhesive mixed
and we can get going.
[narrator]
Instead of traditional mortar,
they've opted for an adhesive,
which is normally used
for fitting tiles.
Not only is it stronger,
it's also easier to apply.
And to make sure the blocks
are spaced evenly,
Edward has come
up with a clever idea.
The blocks have to sit on
a fair amount of tile adhesive,
so I took these mosaic tiles
from local DIY store.
They're a decent thickness,
they’re made of stone
so they can just be left in--
in the joint
and we get a uniform joint.
So the even-- for the kind of
people with the eye,
they'll still see that
everything's neat
and as it should be,
like my wife. [chuckles]
Ready. Let’s go.
The idea is we put it on
its-- squelches it, you know?
[narrator]
The trick is not to go
overboard with the adhesive.
[Edward]
Little bit too much.
So we need about half of what
you put on last time.
[narrator]
The problem with too much
is things can get messy,
but as the wall goes up,
Edward's discovered
another issue.
We’re discovering that
as the stone's very wet,
first of all, very heavy,
but the stones are
really soft when they're wet.
So we are chipping
here and there
but it's part and parcel of it
and it's part of
the character really.
If it was perfect-perfect,
then it probably
wouldn't look right.
[narrator]
Let’s hope Anna agrees,
but at least they're making
steady progress.
Back a bit.
Today we should be able to
get three, four rows up.
It's Brian's birthday
on Saturday
and I told him if he's
not finished the facade,
which is what,
what day are we today,
Brian? Thursday?
So he's got two days--
well, no, he's got one day
to finish the facade,
otherwise he's working
on his birthday.
[narrator]
No pressure then, Brian.
[narrator]
150 miles southeast
at Chateau Thuries...
Jayne and Steve’s
opulent Renaissance suite
has come on leaps and bounds.
They've put in a new floor
and wall panels,
but it's the ceiling that
really takes your breath away.
They've put up a Sistine
Chapel inspired wallpaper
that cost just under £400.
[Steve] It was a hard job to
put up and do. But I think
it's gonna be worth it.
-But I just wanted one room
in the Chateau.
-Over the top--
That was a bit over the top.
Hopefully, we've achieved it.
[Steve] Oh, it's so opulent.
I think we should
double the price.
[both laugh]
We spent so much
money on it,
it’s going to take us
five years
to get our money back.
[both laugh]
[Steve]
One, two, three, up.
It’s heavy.
[narrator] As the wallpaper
was a large expense,
Jayne has managed to
save some money
by making the giant
headboard herself.
[Jayne] It’s in.
Apart from the gluing.
Oh, what's happened?
What have you done there?
Don’t blame me. Sweaty hands.
[laughs]
What do you reckon?
It's like a, you know, when
you go into a posh pub
in a big long bar.
[Jayne]
Oh, yeah. I like it.
[Steve]
And where you can
sit down and--
-[Jayne] That's looking good.
-Well done, sweetheart.
Aw, well done.
[narrator]
Jayne's extravagant vision
is starting to take shape.
She now wants to emulate
the palatial spirit
of the Renaissance
on the walls.
So what I've got here,
I've got some stencils,
which are very French,
reminiscent of Marie Antoinette
and all of that sort of thing.
And...
what I wanted to do
was create some kind of
Renaissance feel
to the paneling.
[narrator]
Jayne is no stranger
to stenciling
as she used the technique
when she decorated the floor
in the Chateau’s Orangery.
But even with
her extensive experience...
[laughs]
[narrator]
making the stencils behave
isn't easy.
-[Jayne] So I need your help.
-[Steve] Okay .
Got to make sure that
I get it absolutely
in the center.
And it's absolutely straight.
Otherwise,
when I put the paint on,
-it'll all look skewy.
-Yeah.
So I can measure it up
with where the middle is here,
but there's a center point
marked on the panel
at the bottom.
-Yeah.
-[Jayne] And then there's
on the panel at the bottom,
-Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
-[Jayne]Yeah right.
And we need to marry that up
with the centre point.
[Steve] All right.
All right needs to come over.
That's about-- That's it.
Do you want me to put the--
push up the square up for you?
-[Jayne] No.
-No, you don’t need it.
-I don't think it's going to
work actually.
-[Steve] It's square?
[Jayne] But that is-- it's 18
on this side
and 10 and a half
on that side.
Which means it's
not centered at the top,
So that's got to over
to the right.
-That's spot on, Jayne.
-It's square.
-[Steve] Here.
-[Jayne] Right.
-And that is definitely
in the centre, is it?
-[Steve] Yeah.
[narrator]
Getting the stencil
correctly placed...
[Steve] That’s spot on.
[narrator]
...is only the first
part of the task.
Now the next worry is that
I'm going to use
the wrong colours.
But I think we'll just
have to, you know,
cross that bridge
when we come to it.
[narrator] The stenciling
is a massive job,
especially in a room
this size.
[Jayne] I’m feeling a bit tired
and a bit fed up
with it all now
because there's
the light's no good,
and I don't want to mess it up
just because I can't
see really properly.
So I think we're going to
leave it and call it
a day today
and I'll have another look
at it freshly in the morning.
[narrator]
With only one panel underway,
let's hope a good night's
sleep gives Jayne the energy
to finish
her Renaissance dream.
170 miles to the north
back at Chateau Gioux,
the first guest to stay in
the new family suite
will soon be arriving.
So Debbie's working flat out.
[Debbie]
I'm at the bed making stage
which is also,
you know, the final stages.
I'm feeling really
happy with it.
So this is like
the final touches,
which is a great feeling
because this bedroom
has taken a long time.
Yeah, from start to finish.
So to get to this stage is,
is a really big--
a big thing for us.
[narrator]
The renovation
is finally complete.
What was a tired
and outdated bathroom
is now refreshed
and modern.
The old office
has been transformed
into a child-friendly den
with painted twin beds.
What was once Debbie
and Nigel's old bedroom
now boasts a comfortable
and chic French bed,
surrounded by
luxurious peacock wallpaper.
[Debbie] It’s finished.
Ready for action.
-It looks really special.
-Clean-- it looks
really special.
I'm really sorry to be
leaving the family suite,
but it's one of those things
that we need to do
for business.
I think sometimes you have to
take one step sidewards,
or even backwards to go
two steps forward,
and we're having to do that,
to achieve our aims.
[Debbie]
And when we don't have guests,
there's nothing to stop us
coming up here and sitting
and having a glass of wine
and enjoying it,
just like we do normally.
So it's not --
-it's not like we're
giving it up forever, is it?
-No.
[narrator]
But what will
the guests think?
Luckily, they're not
complete strangers.
Nigel's brother Mike
and his wife Martha
have come to visit
from the UK.
[Mike]
Just really excited
to see the new room
I know they’ve been spending
a lot of time,
quite a lot of effort into it,
so...
looking forward to it, really.
Oh, wow.
Okay. Yeah.
Yeah, I love that.
[Martha] It's beautiful.
I like the way
that you've picked up
the purples and blues
in the bedding as well.
-[Debbie] Do you like it?
-[Martha] I'm blown away there.
-[Debbie] Are you? Yeah?
-[Martha] I just-- Oh!
[Mike]
It looked different the
last time we were here.
[Steve]
Just a little bit, yeah.
[Martha] Just a bit.
In here we have the...
It was Debbie’s dressing room,
but now a family room.
So there's two more
single beds.
Couldn’t wait for family
how good it is
-that you're all, the same...
-[Debbie] Yes.
Same bedroom...
[Debbie]
Yes, it's a really sort
of versatile room.
[Martha]
I think it's really special.
-I love it, Debbie.
-Thank you. Thanks, Martha.
[narrator]
The new family suite,
with its beautifully
refurbished bathroom,
looks to have been
well worth the effort.
If Martha and Mike's
reactions are anything
to go by,
it could boost
their BnB business
and help fund future projects.
-We're very proud of it.
-Very proud of it.
Very happy to have it done.
I mean, we still have a
huge list of things to do
from the attic
to the orangery,
which is a big
expensive project.
So maybe when
we've had this summer,
letting the rooms out,
we'll see what
our finances are like.
Then we'll look again
at what next we need to do.
[narrator] Coming up...
Jayne and Steve's opulent
Renaissance suite
nears completion.
[Jayne]
This is the exciting thing.
When what you've got
in your head,
you can see it
come to fruition,
which is lovely.
[narrator]
And Anna arrives
to meticulously check
Edward’s pool renovations.
[Anna]
There's a broken log there.
Did you think I was
going to miss that one?
[groans]
[narrator]
In southern France,
Jayne and Steve's
fifth and final guest bedroom,
the Renaissance suite,
is almost complete.
All it needs now
is a little stylish dressing.
This is the exciting thing
when you can sort of
what you've got in your head ,
you can see it come to
fruition, which is lovely.
[narrator]
Jayne had intended to
decorate the wall panels
with colourful stencils,
echoing the extravagant
ceiling.
What I was going to do was
kind of do some
Marie Antoinette
style stenciling in there.
And I did one panel,
which looked quite nice,
but I just had this feeling
that it was just going
to be too much.
And what I didn't want to do
was have a really, really
ridiculously busy room.
So I've painted over
all the stenciling that I did.
-And we--
-[Steve] I painted over it.
All right, okay,
you painted over it
And we've now
got just plain walls,
which are
an off-shade of white
and are very light
and beautiful.
[narrator] And it means
Jayne can go to town
on her accent pieces
with apiece de resistance,
a gilt antique dressing screen
bought online for £110.
We need to zigzag it a bit.
[Steve] Oh, zigzag it.
I thought you do it
like that. Oh.
-Oh! No, you don't
do it like that.
-Okay.
[Jayne]
I mean, this room has been
a completely different planet,
completely, to normal.
We wouldn’t be doing this
in our own bedroom.
-Yeah.
-[Steve] Let's put it that way.
-You go above and beyond,
don't you, really?
-[Steve] Yeah.
[Jayne]
You go that little bit further
to make something special
and that's actually one of
the joys of living in
a Chateau, isn't it?
That you're not restricted
by anything you can just...
you've just got
carte blanche to do...
whatever you want to do.
Let your imagination run wild.
Jayne does what she wants.
[laughs] Most of the time.
Most of the time.
[narrator] Since they bought
the Chateau two and a half
years ago,
this unloved
ground-floor box room
was nothing more
than a storage dump.
Now, it's an opulent
extra guest bedroom
with clean paneled walls,
a striking
Renaissance-style ceiling,
and antique pieces,
which nod
to the palaces of France.
Knocking the wall down
has increased the space
and by adding a bedroom,
they could potentially boost
their BnB income by 20%.
The feel of the room
is lovely and ...
the bare bones, the things
that we've got in there
at the moment,
are really lovely.
[Steve]
Compares with the other
guest bedrooms in that
it's up there with
the rest of them.
In fact, I think we're getting
better at doing it, actually.
I think there's a theme
in all five rooms,
and I think
it's up there with them.
[narrator]
In France, you can
only rent five bedrooms
when operating as a BnB.
With no more rooms
to renovate,
Jayne and Steve can hopefully
start to reap the rewards
of all their hard work.
We're nearly there.
I mean, we can see
the light at
the end of the tunnel
as far as renovations inside
the Chateau are concerned.
[Steve] Yeah, I think
we're almost there.
I mean, obviously, the terrace
will be improving
and certain rooms
will be improving,
but the investment
should start slowing down,
[narrator]
Which leaves them free
to concentrate
on Jayne's next idea
for the Chateau.
I'm quite excited
actually about the future
because we've got lots of
courses that we're going
to be running.
So there's lots
of art courses,
we might have
some wellness retreats.
Let's do food and gastronomy
weeks, as well.
-Mm-hmm.
-So it's quite exciting.
[narrator]
Over in southwest France,
at Chateau Lagorce,
it's been a busy six months.
But Anna and Edward’s
pool area is almost complete.
I thought it was
going to be done
a good four
to six weeks ago,
Putting balustrades
on the front of the building
should have been an easy job
but it didn't
turn out that way.
It's all heavy work
and takes a lot longer
than you think.
When I got the guy in to
do the pool house roof,
I got to paint
all of the pool as well,
I repaired a couple of leaks
on the pool, too.
I'm really almost there
with the pool area now
so a bit of finishing off
inside the pool house.
I'm hoping Anna will be happy
with what I've done.
I mean, even now
before it's finished,
I look at it from
the top terrace
and it just makes me
smile every time.
[narrator]
To finish it all off,
Edward is putting
the icing on the cake.
[speaking in French]
[narrator]
He has bought
36 new sun loungers
and has roped in
Cyril to help.
[speaking French]
[narrator]
With Anna being
a stickler for detail,
they can't leave
anything to chance.
The setup I'm looking for
really is mainly for the next,
you know,
the next day after the wedding,
kind of like a beach club
kind of feel to it
with hopefully the DJ up
on the balcony up there.
And everyone just
having a great time
around the pool,
but it has to look right.
[narrator]
But they don't have
any more time.
-[Anna] Wow.
-[narrator] As Anna arrives
for an inspection.
It's looking really good.
Well done, honey.
Are you tired?
Yeah, it's been
really hot today.
[Anna]
The colour's really nice.
I think I might
have a go on here.
Give it a try,
you will be the first one.
First ones ever.
Oh, that's good.
-That looks comfy.
-It feels good.
That looks really good.
No, you've done really well.
And they're all
perfectly aligned?
No, they're really good.
They're really nice.
And they have like,
the cup holder,
so if they have a drink,
they can put the drink.
[narrator]
But nothing can escape
Anna’s eye for detail.
There's a broken log there.
Did you think I was
going to miss that one?
[groans]
I can whizz up
and get a screwdriver.
It's only two screws, Anna.
I mean,
almost perfect, Ed.
[Edward]
Let me have a look.
You carry on looking,
make sure there's no other
problems.
Let's see what we got there.
[Anna]
He has to pay the price
of that broken log.
He has to go up 100 steps
in the heat,
and then get the screwdriver.
That's gonna be sorted.
Ed keeps a good sense of humor
because I'm always--
I'm always peaky. I'll always
see things that he won't see.
It's got its ups and downs,
but he--he puts up with me.
[Edward]
How’s that my lady?
Much better.
It’s looking perfect.
[narrator]
Six months ago,
their pool area
was dreary, dull and dated.
Now it's been transformed
into a stylish
and elegant place to relax,
and the perfect setting for
wedding afterparties.
The new pool house villa
just needs a bar area
and a toilet added inside.
And there's an outdoor shower
that's ready to use.
And with features such as
the balustrade,
the building has
its own unique style.
So we're really looking
forward to the next pool party
with a DJ on the roof.
It looks like as--
well, like a mini Greek villa
because that was
the vision in my head.
With the balustrade
in the stone walls,
the white windows,
it's the perfect pool area.
[Edward] Yeah, it's been
a hard, hard old slog.
[narrator]
Edward has managed
to pull it out of the bag,
but with a cave
still to finish,
his hard work
is far from over.
-Next time...
-Whee!
[narrator]
One couple come up with
a money making scheme.
You never know, Belinda.
-This could make us
both millionaires.
-Oh!
[narrator]
A request for help from
one Chateau owner...
Sorry, I've got some in here.
[laughs]
[narrator]
Could be more of a hindrance.
Why is this happening?
[woman]
Because you're going fast
and it's messy
and you don't listen
to instruction.
[narrator]
And the pressure is on
for Edward’s big
investment to pay off.
And we're talking getting on
towards 20,000 euros.
So it's kind of a
win-or-lose situation.
There's no medium ground.
[theme music plays]